Tag: ebay

Yahoo Auctions is the Japanese version of eBay. It is an online auctions site where users can bid on items that sellers list for sale. It is also the largest online auction site in Japan. If you are looking for something, you will probably find it here.

Help! I can’t read Japanese!

No problem at all! We have an English version of Yahoo Auctions here where you can browse in English and see prices in your local currency. You can also place live, real-time bids through our system. We even offer a snipe bidding service so you can win those bids at the very last minute!

Can I buy directly from Yahoo Auctions myself if I sign up for a Yahoo account?

Unfortunately, if you are not based in Japan and cannot speak Japanese, you will be really limited to what you can buy on Yahoo Auctions using your own Yahoo account. 99% of sellers only deal in Japanese and refuse to or simply cannot deal in English. They will almost always not send internationally either. Furthermore, they will often require a local bank transfer which cannot be done from overseas. This limits your options dramatically on Yahoo Auctions.

But don’t worry! That’s where we come in. You can bid on auctions on Yahoo in real-time in English through our site. No Japanese required. Our staff will deal with the seller in Japanese, as well as pay them in Yen from our Japanese bank account, so all you have to do is place your bids and pay for your items once they arrived and have been packed. You can start bidding using our self-bidding site here.

Can you find items for me?

Yes, we can! We have a number of years experience using Yahoo Auctions, and combined with our Japanese skills, we can usually find what you are after if it is available. There is no extra charge for this service. We can even set up alerts on Yahoo Auctions so we can let you know when a rare item you are looking for gets listed.

Why do I have to pay for domestic shipping to you?

As most sellers will not send internationally, we have to request that the seller sends to our warehouse in Japan. While some sellers do offer free domestic shipping, most do not. We only charge you what we are charged for domestic shipping. If you are buying multiple items for the same seller, we will also try to request that they send it in one package to save on shipping costs. Please note that not all sellers will accept our combined shipping requests as they already have the items packed and ready to send.

Can you ask the seller a question for me?

Yes, we can ask the seller questions for you. We will first check the auction to see if the question is already answered in the description or pictures, and if not, we will post the question for you. Most sellers will answer questions but please understand that sometimes some sellers do not respond to questions. We will always try our best to get a response for you though.

Can you make an offer to a seller for me?

In the right circumstances, yes. There are a few caveats though. First, Japanese sellers are quite different that western sellers. Japanese sellers rarely accept “low ball” offers. In fact, many of them will either not respond, or even worse, blacklist our account so we cannot bid on any of their other items. They would often rather throw the item away than to sell it cheaper than what they are asking. We do submit offers above the current auction price though. If you would like to make an offer, please use the contact form and we will discuss the offer with you.

How do I decide how much to bid?

Well that’s really simple. You simply think about how much you would be prepared to pay for the item. You have to be able to think to yourself “If it went above that price, I would be OK with letting someone else get it”. It sounds really confusing but if you think about it like this, you will find you won’t be annoyed, even if you miss out by 1,000 Yen. If at any time you are not sure, please contact us and we will provide you with a shipping estimate and help you work out a maximum bid based on your budget.

Can you “bid to win” for me?

Unfortunately no. Only you know your budget and price that you would be prepared to pay for that. If it went over your budget and we won the item for you, then you wouldn’t be a happy customer. We only want happy customers so that is why we ask you to decide your maximum bid amount before placing the bid.

Do I need to pay a deposit up front in order to bid?

No, you do not need to pay a deposit up front if you have a PayPal account. We can do a PayPal pre-authorization on your account which puts a temporary hold on your PayPal account for the amount of your bid. If you win, we will process the payment and capture the funds. If you do not win, the hold will be removed and no money will have left your PayPal or bank account.

If I lose, will you refund my deposit?

Yes, if you paid a deposit up front, we will refund your deposit. As many customers would like to use that credit to bid on other auctions, we operate on a request basis for refunds. If you request a refund, we will process that for you straight away. If you are requesting a refund back to your Australian bank account, please send through your account details as we need that in order to process the refund. If you would like a refund, please use the contact form.

Can I pay everything up front so you can just send it when you win?

Yes, we can arrange this for you. If you say “I have $500 and want this landed to me”, we can take care of that for you. We will set the maximum bid and try and win that item for you. If we win, we will prepare the shipment and send it for you. If you would like to use this service, please use the contact form and we can help you with that.

I want to bid on multiple items. Can you combine them for me?

Sure! Combining can be a great way to save money on international shipping and ss we have everything sent from the seller to us first, we can put items together in the same box for you. Please be aware that sometimes items do not combine well together and we can advise you on that. If you have any questions about items that can combine, please use the contact form.

Are there any restrictions on what can be sent?

Yes, there are. Japan Post and DHL have restrictions on what can and can’t be sent. These include flammable items, illegal items etc. If you have any questions, please use the contact form and we will try to answer them for you. If then item cannot be sent, and you didn’t ask beforehand, then we will give you the option to either send it to somewhere in Japan of your choosing, or dispose of the item. You will be responsible for any costs incurred so it is always best to ask before as we are more than happy to give you guidance in that area.

Can you send to an address in Japan for me?

Yes, we can. Please contact us before bidding to get the OK first as there are a few things that we need to check with you beforehand. If everything is fine, then we will ship to Japan for you.